Rex Chapman

Former professional football player Lewis Billups pleaded guilty Friday to making threats against Washington Bullets basketball player Rex Chapman, whose sister Billups had been dating. Billups, who spent most of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined $250,000. U.S. District Judge Karl Forester set sentencing for Aug. 13. Under sentencing guidelines, Billups' actual sentence probably will be about 12 months. Billups had a...

Joe Smith, declared a free agent in the NBA's biggest salary cap circumvention case, signed with the Pistons on Monday. Smith agreed to a $2.25 million deal with Detroit for the rest of the season. Had he re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he would have been able to make a maximum of $611,000. - Rex Chapman, 33, one of the top shooters in the NBA when he was at his best, announced his retirement because of a series of injuries. - Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was...

Rex Chapman scored 23 points, Jason Kidd had 19 assists and Phoenix held Gary Payton to nine points. The Suns beat the Sonics for the third straight time over two seasons and held Payton in check the entire game. Payton, who averages 24.1 points, was 3 of 16 from the field with 11 assists, seven rebounds and eight turnovers. Kidd's 19 assists were the most in an NBA game this season, topping Mark Jackson's 17 for Indiana in a game against Washington.

Hersey Hawkins signed with the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, two days after the veteran guard was waived by the Bulls. Hawkins, who turns 34 on Sept. 29, played for Charlotte in the 1993-94 and '94-'95 seasons, averaging 14.4 points a game. He was traded to Seattle at the end of the '95 season, but has maintained an off-season home in Charlotte. "It couldn't be any more perfect," Hawkins said. "I've gotten calls from friends saying, 'how lucky can you be?' Now if I can just make...

Rex Chapman scored 23 points, Jason Kidd had 19 assists and Phoenix held Gary Payton to nine points. The Suns beat the Sonics for the third straight time over two seasons and held Payton in check the entire game. Payton, who averages 24.1 points, was 3 of 16 from the field with 11 assists, seven rebounds and eight turnovers. Kidd's 19 assists were the most in an NBA game this season, topping Mark Jackson's 17 for Indiana in a game against Washington.

Hersey Hawkins signed with the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, two days after the veteran guard was waived by the Bulls. Hawkins, who turns 34 on Sept. 29, played for Charlotte in the 1993-94 and '94-'95 seasons, averaging 14.4 points a game. He was traded to Seattle at the end of the '95 season, but has maintained an off-season home in Charlotte. "It couldn't be any more perfect," Hawkins said. "I've gotten calls from friends saying, 'how lucky can you be?' Now if I can just make...

The Bulls' dynasty may or may not be entering its last days, but either way it might be a good idea to start considering replacements for its key components. Steve Kerr Joined team: Sept. 29, 1993 Position: Designated shooter Height/weight: 6-3, 180 lbs. Numbers: NBA career leader in three-point shooting Contract status: Free agent POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS OPIE TAYLOR Wide-eyed He can count to 100. He's forever in the 4th grade. He's a moral person; he really cares about the...

Joe Smith, declared a free agent in the NBA's biggest salary cap circumvention case, signed with the Pistons on Monday. Smith agreed to a $2.25 million deal with Detroit for the rest of the season. Had he re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he would have been able to make a maximum of $611,000. - Rex Chapman, 33, one of the top shooters in the NBA when he was at his best, announced his retirement because of a series of injuries. - Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was...

There's one player who has scored at least 30 points in every playoff game thus far. It's not Michael Jordan or Rex Chapman. It's the Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, who pretty much dissolved Portland's psychological advantage over the Lakers (a 3-1 regular-season edge) with 46 points and 11 rebounds in Game 1 and then 30 points, six rebounds and five assists in Game 2. In that game the Trail Blazers, who like to play O'Neal one-on-one with Arvydas Sabonis or Chris Dudley, brought more double...

You can't tell what's happening with the Phoenix Suns from box scores and statistics. There is no truth to Sam Smith's assertion (April 3) that Kevin Johnson "has virtually loaded the injury-riddled Suns on his back and carried them at a time the team tried to give his job to Jason Kidd, who wasn't good enough to dislodge him as the starting point guard." The truth is that Johnson, along with Wesley Person, Rex Chapman and Hot Rod Williams, has found new life with a point guard who actually looks to...

You can't tell what's happening with the Phoenix Suns from box scores and statistics. There is no truth to Sam Smith's assertion (April 3) that Kevin Johnson "has virtually loaded the injury-riddled Suns on his back and carried them at a time the team tried to give his job to Jason Kidd, who wasn't good enough to dislodge him as the starting point guard." The truth is that Johnson, along with Wesley Person, Rex Chapman and Hot Rod Williams, has found new life with a point guard who actually looks to...

The Bulls' dynasty may or may not be entering its last days, but either way it might be a good idea to start considering replacements for its key components. Steve Kerr Joined team: Sept. 29, 1993 Position: Designated shooter Height/weight: 6-3, 180 lbs. Numbers: NBA career leader in three-point shooting Contract status: Free agent POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS OPIE TAYLOR Wide-eyed He can count to 100. He's forever in the 4th grade. He's a moral person; he really cares about the...

Doug Overton filled in for the injured Allen Iverson with a season-high 19 points and six assists and the Philadelphia 76ers mounted a late comeback to shock the Detroit Pistons 96-92 Sunday in Auburn Hills, Mich. It was the fifth loss in seven games for the Pistons, who fell a half-game behind Atlanta for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Detroit lost for only the sixth time to a sub-.500 team and just the fourth time in 45 games in which they led going into the...

Kentucky sophomore guard Rex Chapman slumped on a dressing room chair and hung his head. Here he was, three steps away from the Final Four and his shooting touch had deserted him. In the first half of an NCAA Southeast Regional game against Maryland, he missed five free throws. Five free throws! "I`d never missed that many free throws before," Chapman said. Senior Ed Davender, Chapman's begoggled backcourt mate, looked at the bewildered Chapman and offered advice. "I told Rex,...

Rex Chapman has tried, without much success, to cover Kentucky sophomore Ron Mercer in a dozen or so pickup games the last couple of summers in Lexington, Ky. Chapman's scouting report: NBA, beware. "Ron's a special player, and you could see that from the minute he stepped on the UK campus," said Chapman, a guard with the Phoenix Suns. "There's no question he could play in the league right now. There aren't a lot of people who can guard him." Including...

Kentucky's Ron Mercer threw the ball in the air and was mobbed by his teammates. Utah's Keith Van Horn walked off the court without shaking a hand. The two All-Americans went different directions after Kentucky's 72-59 victory over Utah in the NCAA West Regional final Saturday night, Mercer back to the Final Four and Van Horn back to Salt Lake City. Mercer, an explosive 6-foot-7-inch sophomore forward, clearly outplayed Van Horn, scoring a game-high 21 points to the Utah...

Kentucky's Ron Mercer threw the ball in the air and was mobbed by his teammates. Utah's Keith Van Horn walked off the court without shaking a hand. The two All-Americans went different directions after Kentucky's 72-59 victory over Utah in the NCAA West Regional final Saturday night, Mercer back to the Final Four and Van Horn back to Salt Lake City. Mercer, an explosive 6-foot-7-inch sophomore forward, clearly outplayed Van Horn, scoring a game-high 21 points to the Utah...

It was an innocuous road game in late February with the Bulls trying to distance themselves from history, the Heat trying to learn the names of its players. Michael Jordan was gliding into position for his latest favorite shot, the fadeaway, when Heat guard Rex Chapman shoved an elbow in his neck. Jordan did something of a double take. Rex Chapman? Former Jordan basketball camper and NBA bullfighter, known as a matador for the way he waved opponents by. "So he has you playing that...

It was an innocuous road game in late February with the Bulls trying to distance themselves from history, the Heat trying to learn the names of its players. Michael Jordan was gliding into position for his latest favorite shot, the fadeaway, when Heat guard Rex Chapman shoved an elbow in his neck. Jordan did something of a double take. Rex Chapman? Former Jordan basketball camper and NBA bullfighter, known as a matador for the way he waved opponents by. "So he has you playing that...